Page 13 of Ace of Swords

“I don’t mean Ilovedroughts, but that’s what I’m passionate about and what I studied. I was an environmental science major with a focus on water management. That snake downstairs, Abigail, remember her?” Tatiana jumped up, pacing across her bedroom floor, her red silk robe gathered in one hand so she wouldn’t trip over it. “She's on a flight tomorrow to South Africa to work on a water project for a year with my mentor, Professor Hicks. You know who should have been on that plane, Rolland?” she asked. “Me!” she practically yelled, not giving me a second to respond. “I should be in Cape Town evaluating sites for borehole wells and surveying farms for better water management. I want to make a difference in this world, work hard to improve people’s lives. Instead, I’m here in this gilded cage, the only thing I have to look forward to is a mani-pedi appointment in the morning. There’s nothing I can do. Nothing!”

She was wild. She was raw. She was no less beautiful.

It made sense now, her aggressive sexual nature, the seductive and dangerous games that she played. She was bubbling over with desires, straining against her bonds, grabbing any single way she could to have control.

I wasn’t sure what I was going to do as I stood and walked toward her. My mind was a jumble of thoughts looking at her, standing in front of a bedroom window, her skirt gathered in her hand, her hair out of control and her eyes wild. I was acting on a deep instinct without any conscious thought of what I would do when I reached her.

“There’s always something to do, some plan to work out, Tatiana,” I said, touching her shoulder.

She looked up at me, her face coming back to some composure and calm, and she reached up to cradle my cheek. Smiling sadly she said, “This is who I am. Tatiana Montalla. This here, everything around me, it’s really the only way. I have to learn to live with it. There’s nothing else for me.”

Her eyes were resigned. I'd lived my own life with total freedom. Every move I'd made, each decision was carefully calculated. I bristled, imagining living under someone else’s rules, losing the freedom to make my own choices and follow my path.

I raised my hand to hers on my cheek, turning her palm toward me. Being here in her bedroom was foolish. Touching her intimately was insane. It went against every logical thought in my mind.

And I did it anyway.

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